1. Field of the Invention
The subject invention relates to a hand held tool for removing soft tissue, such as cuticles at the base of finger nails.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Medical doctors, professional manicurists and self-manicurists frequently utilize hand held tools for cutting soft tissue, such as cuticles. The typical prior art tool for cutting soft tissue is a small metallic scissor or a small metallic nail clipper.
The typical prior art scissor includes two separate blades pivotally connected to one another. Each blade of a typical prior art scissor includes a planar surface orthogonal to the pivot axis. The blades are disposed such that the planar surfaces can slide over one another as the blades are pivoted. Tissue is disposed between the blades such that the plane of the tissue is substantially orthogonal to the planar surfaces of the respective cutting blades. The blades are then pivoted relative to one another and toward the tissue disposed there-between. The blades overlap with one another and cause the tissue therebetween to shear along the planar surfaces of the blades. Thus, scissors of this type often are referred to as shears.
Shears require space on either side of the tissue being cut for placement of the blade prior to shearing. The amount of space required is a function of the width of each blade and the length of each blade from the pivot point. Cuticles necessarily do not provide significant room on either side for efficient operation of most shears. As a result, shears used for cuticles have short and very pointed blades. Handle portions of such shears must be sufficiently large for digital manipulation by the doctor or manicurist. As a result, these shears have a very significant mechanical advantage applied to the blades by the handles. Hence, a small force on the handles generates a large force by the blades.
These prior art shears are well suited for many tasks but present problems for cuticle removal and other soft tissue cutting. In particular, the sharply pointed blade can lead to accidental puncture wounds. Additionally, the very significant mechanical advantage attributable to the long handles and short blades can lead to the accidental and painful cutting of live tissue. These relative dimensions of the handle and cutting blade portions also make it difficult for the person using these shears to have an efficient feel for the work being performed.
The prior art metallic shears present other problems for the doctor or professional manicurist. In particular, good quality metallic shears are too expensive to be disposable after each use. Consequently, doctors and professional manicurists will use shears for several different patients. Doctors typically have equipment for adequately sterilizing shears between adjacent uses. Professional manicurists, however, generally do not have sterilization equipment. At best, a professional manicurist may deposit the working end of a set of shears into a solution that the manicurist hopes will prevent the spread of communicable diseases. Such solutions often are ineffective. Furthermore, the consumer cannot be certain that an attempt to sterilize tools will have been attempted. Similar problems exist within each household where shears for trimming cuticles may be used by several individuals with no attempt to sterilize the shears between such uses. Household cuticle shears often are stored in a warm moist bathroom that breeds bacteria.
Many soft tissue cuts, such as cuticle trimming, requires precise cutting to be carried out within a very small area. An imprecise cut can be painful and lead to an open bleeding wound. Observation of the area being cut often is impeded by the opaque metallic blades and/or pivot region of the shears.
The relatively high cost of most prior art shears is partly attributable to the relatively high cost of the metal used to make the shears. Furthermore, most prior art shears are formed from two members that must be separately manufactured and then assembled. The need for separate members and their subsequent assembly adds to the cost of the product.
The prior art also includes shears where the handles are disposed between cutting blades and the pivot point. Some such shears are formed from unitary pieces of metal bent into a U-shape. The metal is selected to exhibit resilient spring characteristics near the apex of the U. The ends of the U remote from the apex include the cutting blades. Portions of the arms between the apex and the cutting blade may include complex assemblies of latches and guides to control the range of movements of the cutting blades. Examples of such shears are shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,430,794, 4,527,331, and 5,353,505. The prior art also includes such shears where the handles and the apex are unitarily molded from plastic material. Metallic cutting blades are then fixed to ends of the plastic handles remote from the apex of the U. Examples of prior art shears of this general type are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,972,333 and 4,092,776.
Some prior art cutting tools do not rely upon the overlapping shearing action of the blades. For example, nippers include sharply beveled blades with cutting edges that are moved into directly opposite relationship with one another. Some prior art nippers include two metallic members pivoted at a central location in much the same manner as the above-described shears. Manual forces on the handles urge the cutting blades towards one another, and into opposite respective sides of the material being cut. Sufficient movement of the blades will cause the material to be cut along the line coincident with the cutting edges of the prior art nipper. The typical prior art nipper for toe nails or finger nails has large handles and small cutting blades to provide a significant mechanical advantage. For the reasons explained above, this can result in very little tactile sensation by the person manipulating the nipper. Thus, a painful cutting of live tissue can unintentionally be completed before the person using the nipper can react. These prior art metallic nippers also suffer the above-described deficiencies of shears in that they are costly and provide poor visibility of the work area.
Some prior art nippers that are intended as nail cutters include two elongate elements connected at one end and having cutting edges generally transverse to the longitudinal axis of each member. A lever is used to urge one cutting blade toward the other to complete the cutting. The lever may be rotatable between a first position where the nail clipper is well suited for storage and a second position where the lever projects outwardly from the elongate element and into a position where movement of the lever urges the cutting blades towards one another. This prior art nipper offers some conveniences for cutting nails, but is not well suited for trimming cuticles or other soft tissue cutting.
Significant room for improvement exists with respect to soft tissue nippers, and particularly nippers suitable for trimming cuticles.
Accordingly, it is an object of the subject invention to provide improved soft tissue nippers.
It is another object of the subject invention to provide soft tissue nippers that are inexpensive.
A further object of the subject invention is to provide soft tissue nippers that afford good tactile sensation for the person using the nippers.
Still another object of the subject invention is to provide soft tissue nippers that afford good visibility of the tissue being cut.
It is still a further object of the subject invention to provide an inexpensive tool that enables the performance of several different functions associated with manicures or pedicures.